Rahul Dravid steps down-What next ?

[Leggie]

apparently everyone is ruling sachin out...

 

[Sureshot]

He has just relinquished captaincy. He is not retiring any soon. We can very well have Dravid, the batsman who is one of the best in the world.



Once the seniors retire, it could become easy to have a stable set up.

A stable set up could help the running between the wickets....

On Sachin as captain...

Wouldn't it be a bit of a backwards step? He's not going to be around for a lot longer, my personal choice would be Yuvi. Though I was impressed with Dhoni the other night, but having to run like 50 yards to chat to the bowler could be a pain.

 

[Leggie]

also think about it, the wicketkeeper in a team has the best view, when the bowlers are getting tired, when they are bowling bad and what the pitch is doing, so dhoni could be ideal for the captaining role...

 

[manee]

Though I was impressed with Dhoni the other night, but having to run like 50 yards to chat to the bowler could be a pain.

Yes, it may be, but you will have to run 55 yards if you field slip.

Sadly, for once, there is an issue on indian cricket that I don't have a definative answer for. Here are my thoughts.

Sachin Tendulkar: Short term solution. Awful past as captain. He does command respect in the dressing room though and would be the perfect end to his career.

Sourav Ganguly: Massive backward step, barely makes the test team and won't be long for ODIs.

VVS Laxman: Yet to be seen how he will captain. But has Ian Chappell's backing and is a fine test batsman with more than a few years left in him. You will have to go for split captaincy since I think recalling him to ODIs would be beyond foolish.

On to the long term choices.

MS Dhoni: Tough responsibility keeping/batting/captaining. Barely makes the test side. Captained well against Pakistan in twenty20 match. He is unproven though.

Yuvraj Singh: A bit hot tempered, bit of a playboy in India. Should we risk compromising his world class batting ability on ODIs. Should he captain tests if he cannot make the test team on batting alone?

Dinesh Karthik: Passionate about Indian cricket, but too passionate? Should he make the ODI team let alone captain it?

Virender Sehwag: Past experience as Vice Captain but is not in the frame of selection yet due to alarming drop in form with the bat. I think it is too risky to have such an on-off player like him as captain.

Mohammad Kaif: Apparently a tactical genius but in my opinion, should not make the test side due to poor India A performances and not brilliant FC average. Some may even argue that his fielding AND batting in ODIs could be bettered by Suresh Raina.

Suresh Raina: Far too much, far too soon.

 

[SaiSrini]

I'm quite confident that Dhoni will be given the captaincy in both Tests and ODIs. Either which way, I find it hard to think how guys like Ganguly and Sachin will take orders from him....

They will eventually get out of the team then. How long can they do that? I dont think they are that kind of players. They dont mind taking orders from anyone. They are just prone to insecurity. If they start feeling insecure, they could possibly try anything to secure their place.

 

[Cricketman]

Its a hard choice.
Me:
Tendulkar: Tests
Dhoni: ODI's.

Even though the Dhoni part was hard to type.

 

[surendar]

Its very unlikely that Tendulkar will accept this offer. He knows very well that this post is not suitable to him.. We can't force him to take the job which he is not comfortable with..

Then, there is no use to break his head or to get some unnecessary/unwanted comments( like, " mirror mirror say me, what am i doing as a captain) from so called experts after an unsuccessful captaincy which is known before.

He has already denied couple of times before.. I personally feel, he is going to deny this time too. In test cricket, i think we can go with Kumble instead of Sachin. Lets see what happens. :cool:

 

[icyman]

The only reason for this big fight is because the upcoming tours are tough.
I swear,if it were any other country,other than Aus and Pak touring India,
Ms Dhoni would have become the captain hands down.

I personally would back Sourav Ganguly for the Test side.Yes,it would be a short term solution.I dont see Ganguly playing on after Dec 2008.
People say this would be a backward step,but remember he is one of our most successful captains,and he built up a team and took it to the finals of the World Cup in 2003.

If Ganguly is a step backwards,so is Sachin Tendulkar.
I have criticised Dravid's leadership,but if Sachin becomes the captain,I'd have to say that Dravid was acceptable.

I just read Ian Chappell's comments.Laxman seems to be a good idea.Afterall,he was the vice-captain in SA last year.The only thing that goes against him-inexperienced !

 

[Cricketman]

I just read Ian Chappell's comments.Laxman seems to be a good idea.Afterall,he was the vice-captain in SA last year.The only thing that goes against him-inexperienced !

hes been playing for like 8 years..i don't think thats inexperience..
For tests, yeah i think thats a good choice.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Laxman for tests, Dhoni for ODIs. And I said it before, and will say it again, get Kaif in there as soon as possible.

 

[Animator!]

I'd say Laxman for tests, and Yuvraj for ODI's, with Dhoni V/C in both forms. Dhoni would struggle to captain the side because of being a keeper, however his vantage points and what seemed like tactical nous would make him a perfect candidate for Vice captain, for the time being at least.

 

[sd92]

I want Dhoni in both forms, hes a legend already.

 

[Animator!]

Would it not be too much pressure though? He's treated like a god and admired just because of his looks, making him a press phenomenon in India. Everytime he goes into bat everyone expects him to go out and twat everyone about for a 50 ball hundred. Everytime he doesn't his house gets lynched. Then he's supposed to Keep well, and organise the field, sort out bowling changes etc. It'd be alright for 20/Twenty and ODI Cricket but in Tests he'd be so over worked.

 

[sd92]

His looks? He needs a haircut.

 

[Animator!]

Not what most of India thinks